The developers of PS2 have a stated interest in making certain areas infantry-specific and have introduced shields over parts of bases (and facilities) in pursuance of that objective. I'm not completely sold on the implementation of the shields, but I like the idea of having segregated combat areas. What I don't like are the fact these shields are permanent. They should make turning on the shields the Amp Station bonus. Making the shields permanent make them passive and dull. If you actually had to fight for this advantage, you would add another tactical layer to the game. If you had the edge in infantry, you'd want them up. If you had the vehicle advantage, you'd want them down. Having them up would give you a sense of accomplishment (We defended that really well, so we have an edge now) and not having them would give you a sense of urgency (We need to push to get those up now!). To solve the permanence of the shields, there are two things within the current state of the game (i.e. without an NTU mechanic) that can be done to make these shields semi-permanent: generators and facility bonuses. Pros for shield generators: Works only for local area--you can fall back to the next base and set up a defense without worrying about those shields being down, too. This would help stem the tide of a crushing armor/air zerg. Funnels fights into different buildings. Currently, many of the outlying buildings without generators or points are completely irrelevant and ignored. It would force people to fight in areas that get little love currently. Cons for shield generators: The more types of generators there are, the harder it is for new players to pick up the complexities of base/facility capture. This game is already complex enough for new players. The more things you have to defend, harder it is to defend overall. The generators at the Tech Plant are a prime example of this. The developers wanted to pull people away from the capture point to solve the problem of the redonkulus meatgrinders that were Tech Plants 1.0, so they added generators and generally moved things around. This made Tech Plants a LOT less defensible. I'm not sure we need to make facilities less defensible than they already are. Instead of adding yet another generator to the game, the developers should either introduce a new facility type (long-term solution) or retool the Amp Station (short-term solution) and have the dome shields activate in your bases as long as you own one of these facilities. Pro for facility bonus: It makes another facility bonus matter. Currently, there is one facility with a bonus that matters: the Tech Plant. If you want to find a fight, go attack a Tech Plant. When forming a strategic goal for the night, the first question a platoon leader should ask himself is: Do I have a Tech Plant? If not, the platoon's first objective is to capture one. How many people can, off the top of their heads, tell you what the bonus for holding an Amp Station is? 20%, maybe? How many people can honestly say that the bonus made a noticeable impact on any fight they've had whatsoever? 10%, maybe? The Bio Labs' bonus is more noticeable, but it's not powerful enough to force people to capture a Bio Lab if they don't have one. It's nice to have a Bio Lab, but you have to have a Tech Plant. The Amp Station is just another fight, just on a somewhat larger scale; they matter for alerts, but that's it. The Amp Stations' bonus frankly sucks. Individual bases don't become inherently less defensible than they are now (as they would if you gave the defenders another thing to defend). Makes sense thematically/lore wise. Those things have to be hard to power, so an AMP station gives you the power necessary to defend your base with shields. Cons for facility bonus: It's a global benefit, meaning it won't help much if you're getting stomped from base to base by an armor/air zerg and you're without the bonus-granting facility. The Amp Station's current bonus, increasing the time it takes to overheat base turrets, goes way. But, really, this bonus is irrelevant 95% of the time. TL/DR: Shields are kinda cool, and if you want to make them really cool make them the Amp Station Bonus.
